130 WHEAT CULTURE 



then the drill-rows followed, not crossed. The plants should be 

 well rooted before using the harrow, but not too large. It is not 

 practical to harrow broadcast grain. 



Boiling in the spring is very often good practice. Rolling settles 

 the soil about the roots and fills up the cracks. At the Nebraska 

 Station rolling increased the yield about 5 bushels per acre during 

 a period of several years (Nebr. Bui. 104). In the eastern States 

 when grass and clover seed is sown in the wheat, rolling is considered 

 beneficial to the new seeding. Corrugated rather than smooth rollers 

 are generally considered best. 



Pasturing Wheat. In the southern part of the wheat region, 

 from Kentucky to Oklahoma, considerable fall and winter pasture 

 can be secured from the wheat fields. Properly managed the crop 

 will not be much injured. Under certain conditions it is said to be 

 beneficial, as a very open fall when the wheat makes a heavy top 

 growth and is in danger of winter injury. Also when the soil is 

 very loose, tramping by cattle may be beneficial. However, as gen- 

 erally practised it is to be condemned, as the wheat is frequently 

 eaten down very close and cattle are allowed on when the land is 

 wet. 



Summer Fallow for Wheat. Summer fallow usually means to 

 plow and cultivate a piece of land for an entire summer without a 

 crop. The method has been practised in a limited way in all climates 

 and soils on poor land, but is only found as a regular practice in 

 somewhat dry regions. This method gives a crop only once in two 

 years, hence the yield must be more than twice as great to be more 

 profitable. In general, experiments have failed to show an average 

 double yield for summer fallow, except in the very driest regions. 

 Further, almost as good results are secured in the wheat crop if a 

 cultivated crop, like corn, is raised in the year when fallow would 

 ordinarily be practised. However, in some regions where very ex- 

 tensive farming is practised with big machinery, the land will get 

 very foul with weeds, and in such cases it is advised that summer 

 fallowing once in four years is the most practical way of clearing the 

 land of weeds and of putting it again in good physical condition. 



The Listing Method. This method is also practised in dry 

 regions under extensive farming methods. The method consists in 



